Self-Driving Vehicles: Putting Your Life in the Hands of a Computer Is it safe for self-driving cars be allowed to operate on streets along with human driven vehicles? Automated vehicles are most likely what the future has in store. I believe it is merely a matter of when the technology is at a satisfactory level for it to be safe enough for everyone to use. I have always been very interested in “the technology of the future” as well as anything mechanical. Currently I am pursuing a degree in diesel engineering. I see my educational path as pursuing a technology that will be even more relevant in the future than it is today. Self-driven cars should coincide with diesel engineered vehicles as long as they are a safe, reliable, and affordable …show more content…
Although none of these accidents were the cars fault, professionals say that human drivers are not used to the autonomous cars mannerisms yet and that is why they are happening. For instance, when a self-driving car senses someone in a crosswalk they wait until the person is completely out of the crosswalk then wait a few more seconds to be safe. In the same situation a person would normally wait until the pedestrian was out of the lane of travel that they are in, and then proceed. The reason the autonomous cars are getting in accidents is because when they are waiting the extra seconds to be safer, people are used to cars moving at the moment they are clear to go and end up rear ending the stopped autonomous vehicle. although the manufacturers are being very quiet about the frequency that accidents are occurring with their test fleet of vehicles. People are noticing that it is happening and they want more information. This does bring up other problems with the automated vehicles. The problem is that no one knows who to blame. In a normal traffic accident, the driver would be at fault. Since there would be only a computer controlling the vehicle then would the computers programmer be at fault, or would it be the vehicles actual manufacturer. Could the person who owns the vehicle really be put at fault for the uncontrolled actions of a robot? This argument has raised many valid points in the controversy that is self-driving
After being involved in a wreck you certainly have to appear at court for a trial. On average a court trial takes around a week. (Citation?) Just think about all the time that we waste hearing for DUI trials when we could be giving our attention to cases with much more meaning. Attorneys can charge up to $1,500 for each case they are involved in. Basically, attorneys can like off of the peoples mistakes of driving under the influence, and simple traffic accidents. Could you imagine a world where there would be no accidents and traveling via automobile would be more efficient, faster, and safer? Since 81% of car crashes are the outcome of human error, having self-driving technology would take a lot of the danger out of the equation entirely.(Citation?) There would be way that the computer in the car would become distracted which is a leading cause of accidents. I still don’t understand why people keep over thinking the concept of self-driving cars. If only they were legal, court time and the efficiency of traffic would be cleared
What would happen if self-driving cars started to fill the streets? Self-driving cars are computer driven cars. They are going to be produced in the next 3-4 years. Self-driving cars should not be produced because there is controversy between people in are they safe and if they should be produced, they can have technical problems and they will create a lot of legal complications.
The goals behind self-driving cars are to decrease collisions, traffic jams and the use of gas and harmful pollutants. The autonomous automobile is able to maneuver around objects and create swift lines of cars on roadways (How Google’s self-Driving Car Works, 2011). The autonomous vehicle can react faster than humans can, meaning less accidents and the potential to save thousands of lives. Another purpose and vision for these cars is that vehicles would become a shared resource. When someone needed a car, he or she could just use his or her Smartphone and a self-sufficient car would drive up and pick him or her up.
As more testing is done on it and new technologies, such as blind spots monitoring systems and lane departure warnings are added, self driving cars are becoming a reality. No doubt about it, these cars are much safer than human drivers. Unlike human drivers who are prone to getting distracted and can get under the influence, the cars are programmed to be aware of their surroundings at all times. They are able to make quick, fast decisions without hesitations; in the road, a slightest bit of hesitation can be lethal. Since self driving cars have direct access to GPS, they are able to locate the quickest route to the user’s destination and if more self driving cars are put onto the streets, there would be less road congestion as each vehicle can coordinate to ensure that traffic doesn’t build up. With such advances in technology comes major benefits and with self driving cars comes the elimination of human error, the cause of a majority of road incidents; the option of using self driving cars should definitely be considered.
You are sitting in the backseat of your driverless car without a care in the world, watching netflix and enjoying your favorite assortment of snacks and beverages. All of a sudden your car goes from the speed limit to full throttle in one jolt and take off down the freeway. The car is not designed to go this fast and the other cars do not have time to react. Is this really what you want in a truly driverless car, having no control over the situation and putting your life in the hands of autonomic machine? Driverless cars should not be introduced to the common public because of deadly errors in the cars system, problems with the laws and regulations, and the role humans play in these cars.
Bradley White Miss Royse English 4 8 March 2015 People Should Drive Automatic Manual cars are slowly starting to automatically fade away. In today’s society it seems that there is not really a use for manuals anymore. Some of the only few uses for manual transmissions anymore is racing. Besides that, there isn’t really a use for them. It just seems to be that they are a thing of the past.
Often, people say that to drive, you need both hands on the steering wheel . They also say that you should not use your cell phone when you’re driving. That’s ending right now!!!
In July 12, The New York Times reported a news: “Inside the self-driving Tesla fatal accident”, which again caused enormous debates on whether self-driving cars should be legal or not.
Although there are issues with implementing self-driving cars on the roads today, self-driving cars can ultimately benefit society. According to public announcements made by companies like Tesla and Nissan, we may start seeing self-driving cars on the roads within the next 3 to 6 years [Ref. 1 and 2].
Eric Teoh and David Kidd from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, conducted a study that provided the results from Google's field testing of its self-driven car vs. human drivers. They reported that "Results suggest that highly-automated vehicles can perform more safely than human drivers in certain conditions, but will continue to be involved in crashes with conventionally-driven vehicles" (Teoh and Kidd). The majority of the self-driven car incidences involved a conventionally driven vehicle either rear-ending or side-swiping the Google vehicle. They also report that Google's testing was very biased and failed to report incidences that the test drivers intervened to prevent a potential crash from happening, failed to report crashes that were not considered police reportable and did not operate during inclement weather in which could be the cause of some of the human operated vehicle mishaps. These tests were conducted under supervision and highly controlled; thus, indicating that their technology is progressing but not truly ready for interaction with the general motoring public or harsh weather
In the present time most of the drivers encountered on the open road are driving automatic transmission. Many, if not most, go through their life without knowing how to drive manual transmission. The main reason being because of the necessity of using both feet and having to drive one handed. Learning how to drive both is a skill that will open a new world of opportunities. One never knows if there will ever be a situation that will require a person to know how to drive manual, also known as “stick shift”. Yes the vehicle can turn off on the driver preventing the car to advance, but all it takes is tremendous amount of patience.
Self-driving cars are the wave of the future. There is much debate regarding the impact a self-driving car will have on our society and economy. Some experts believe fully autonomous vehicles will be on the road in the next 5-10 years (Anderson). This means a vehicle will be able to drive on the road without a driver or any passengers. Like any groundbreaking technology, there is a fear of the unforeseen problems. Therefore, there will need to be extensive testing before anyone can feel safe with a vehicle of this style on the road. It will also take time for this type of technology to become financially accessible to the masses, but again alike any technology with time it should be possible. Once the safety concern has been fully addressed
It might be hard to see where the self-driving car could have issues with safety but an interesting question arises when an accident is unavoidable. The question posed is “How should the car be programmed to act in the event of an unavoidable accident? Should it minimize the loss of life, even if it means sacrificing the occupants, or should it protect the occupants at all costs? Should it choose between these extremes at random?” (ArXiv). This is a very interesting question surrounding ethics. I’m not sure if there is a right answer to the question, which could stall the self-driving car industry. Before self-driving cars are mass produced a solution needs to be found to the question about unavoidable accidents. Although this question is a problem, there may not be a need to address the problem. It is said that “"driver error is believed to be the main reason behind over 90 percent of all crashes" with drunk driving, distracted drivers, failure to remain in one lane and falling to yield the right of way the main causes.” (Keating). Self-driving cars could eliminate those problems entirely and maybe with all cars on the road being self-driving cars, there would be no “unavoidable accidents”. Safety is the main issue the self-driving car is trying to solve in transportation and seems to do a good job at
Autonomous vehicles are the talk of rising and successful car companies, for example, Tesla, but are they really proved to be the safest way of driving as such companies claim it to be? Autonomous vehicles shouldn’t be allowed as a way of transport on the road for many reasons. First of all, autonomous vehicles, like all technology can have glitches as well as faults in its programming, second, autonomous vehicles can get hacked by exterior sources, last of all, autonomous vehicles affect not only safety but other industries. Autonomous vehicles are not only unsafe to us, humans but they can affect small auto repair business who simply run on things like accidents involving cars.
Technology is evolving faster than ever these days, however there is one technology that could revolutionize the transportation industry. This technology is called autonomous cars, also known as self-driving cars. Autonomous cars can be defined as a vehicle that is capable of sensing its environment, and navigating without human input. Using different techniques such as GPS and radar, autonomous cars can detect surroundings, thus removing the human element in driving. This would have a positive effect in more ways than we could ever imagine. Research suggests that self-driving cars will become more abundant in the future because they will be more cost-effective, enhance safety, and decrease traffic congestion.